How do you know when it's time for life after entrepreneurship? Selling the most important asset in your life - the one you've poured heart and soul into - shouldn't be tied to the day Social Security kicks in. It should be a process started three to five years before the final event, as the planning for life after entrepreneurship is equally as important as your first business plan.

The co-founders of a public relations and events-management firm discuss the role of negotiation in enabling them to operate as equal partners. Balance, trust and skills are necessary for the give-and-take involved, and the authors provide suggestions for achieving that.

Risk is the essential element of entrepreneurial life but it can and must be managed if company founders are to build profitable enterprises, writes the author, who has founded companies and is currently a venture capitalist helping others do the same. To control risk, he advises listening to instinct, managing to a plan, and working the financials so that there is enough money to fund the need.

Entrepreneurs need to be leaders to motivate people to undertake the daunting task of turning a vision into a tangible entity, says the founder of the nation's largest pediatric home healthcare provider.

Careful measurement and management of your partnerships can protect entrepreneurs from entering into agreements with the wrong strategic partners, and it can provide a sound basis for making the most of productive partnerships.

The author discusses how to get the most from a buy-sell agreement, encourages entrepreneurs to detail very specifically what happens when ownership changes occur, and elaborates on the language required for valuation of the shares.

Entrepreneurs should cultivate relationships with outsiders who can offer support and advice, even though "mentoring," as it's often called, is typically considered an instrument of corporate career-building. In this insightful article by an entrepreneur who founded a non-profit organization to pair owners of young companies with seasoned business owners, the author advises entrepreneurs to seek help from peers as well as superiors and from several outsiders rather than a single guru.

This article, first in a series of seven, defines the terms and types of corporate marriage. Know the rationale for merging in various industries and the goals entrepreneurs seek to achieve before you take the plunge.

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